Safety dumping bucket



Jan. 1965 L. R. MCAFOOS, JR, ETAL 3,230,003

SAFETY DUMPING BUCKET 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 6; 1964 ATTORNFL S.

1956 L. R. M AFoos, JR, ETAL 3,230,003

SAFETY DUMPING BUCKET Filed March 6, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS.

1 BY STANLEY H. FICA LEV, JQ.

ATTOR/VEKS.

United States Patent "ice It is among the objects of this invention toprovide a safety dumping bucket that can be used, for example, in

' a steel mill to transport cropped ends of billets or other heavymaterials; that is provided with a bail for engagement with the hook ofan overhead crane; and that can be transported, dumped, and returned toan upright position by manipulating the bail with the crane, includingrotating and radially moving the bail about the trunnions on the bucket,without other mechanical or manual intervention. It is also an object ofthis invention to provide safety means by which the bail can be lockedagainst rotation in a vertical position when the bucket is resting onthe ground, as during loading, and that will also lock the bucketagainst rotational movement relative to the bail when the bail is liftedby the crane for transporting the bucket to another area of the plant.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment, in connection with the attacheddrawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the dumping bucket ofthis invention;

- FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of this bucket;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the same, partly in section;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail of one of the trunnions and the adjacentend of the bail;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail of the retaining means on the bucketadjacent one of the trunnions; and

FIGS. 6 through 10 are diagrammatical representations ofthe variousrelative positions of bail and bucket in loading, transporting, anddumping the bucket.

The safety dumping bucket of this invention includes a bucket having twoopposed side walls, on each of which ishmounted an outwardly extendingtrunnion in axial alignment with the other trunnion. The trunnions areslidably and rotatably received within slots extending along the sidesof a generally U-shaped bail. The slots are located at the ends of thebail and permit the bail to be rotated about and to have limited radialmovement relative to the trunnions. As a result, the bail can occupyvarious positions as determined by the location of the trunnions. in theslots. In a first position, the trunnions are adjacent the upper ends ofthe slots, as when the bucket is on the ground with the bail upright andunsupported by the crane. In a second position, the trunnions are at thelower ends of the slots, as when the bucket is lifted off the ground bythe hook of a crane engaging the upright bail. In a third position, thetrunnions are intermediate the ends of the slots. The means forpreventing undesired rotation between bail and bucket, which includemeans for dumping the bucket, comprise a pin mounted on at least oneside of the bail adjacent the slot on that side and pin retaining orengaging means mounted on the bucket. A first pin retaining means isadapted to engage the pin when the bail is upright and in its firstposition, as hereinabove defined, for locking the bail against rotationabout the trunnions. A second pin retaining means is adapted to engagethe pin when the bail is upright and in its second position, and itsfunction is also to lock the bail against rotation about the trunnions.When the bail is in its third position, however, it is free PatentedJan. 18, 1966 to rotate about the trunnions. After the ball has beenrotated in this third position through a predetermined arc, the bail isshifted to its second position (as by the crane drawing the bailradially about the trunnions), permitting the pin to pass under andengage a shoulder on the bucket that prevents counter-rotation of thebail about the trunnions. If the bail is now lifted by the crane, thebucket will be dumped.

Referring to the drawings, a bucket 1 is provided with two opposed sidewalls 2 and 3, and inclined end walls 4 and 5. A trunnion 6 is rigidlymounted on each side wall 2 and 3. These trunnions extend outwardly andare in axial alignment with each other. A b'ail 7, of generally invertedU-shape, is provided with a hook-engaging apex 8. The lower end of eachside portion 9 of the bail is slotted to receive one of the trunnions.Such an arrangement may be conveniently provided by securing to thelower ends of the bail U-shaped straps 10, part of which extend belowthe bottom ends of the bail to provide elongated slots 11 for slidablyand rotatably receiving the trunnions. These trunnions are provided withend caps 12 to retain the bail thereon.

Preferably, each side portion 9 of the bail is provided with a heavy pin13, which extends inwardly towards the bucket and is preferably mountedon the bail just above the slot 11. Each pin is adapted to engageretaining and guide means mounted on the adjacent side of the bucket forlocking the bail against rotation relative to the bucket, thereby torender the bucket and bail safe while being loaded and transported andto permit dumping the bucket by manipulating the bail alone. Theseretaining and guide means may conveniently be formed from plate membersthat are welded or otherwise secured to the outside of the bucket. Forexample, a plate member 14 is mounted on the bucket surrounding eachtrunnion and its outer edge is contoured as shown in FIG. 5. Thiscontoured edge includes an approximately semicircular convex portion 15that is concentric with trunnion 6 and provided with a notch 16 directlyabove the trunnion for receiving the pin, 13, laterally extendingshoulder or stop portions 17, inwardly and downwardly curved portions18, and lower straight vertical portions 19. A second plate member 20 ismounted on each side of the bucket, adjacent but spaced from plate 14.This second plate also acts as a retaining or locking means and, incooperation with the first plate, as a guide means for pin 13. The loweredge of this second plate is its functional edge and is contoured asshown in FIG. 5 to include a generally semicircular concave portion 21that i concentric with the adjacenttrunnion and is spaced from edge 15of plate 14 by a distance substantially greater than the diameter of pin13. It will be apparent from FIG. 5 that the two plates 14 and 20 withtheir opposed arcuate edges '15 and 21 provide an arcuate passage 23 forguiding pin 13 when the bail is rotated in its third position about thetrunnions. At the highest point of the curved edge 21, directly abovetrunnion 6, plate 20 is provided with a notch 22 similar and opposite tonotch 16 in plate 14. At the ends of its approximately semicircularcurved portion 21, the bottom edge of plate 20 extends laterally andincludes a tapered portion 24, extending outwardly and slightlydownward. It should be noted that the corner 25 at the junction of edgeportions 21 and 24 is located above shoulder 17 by a distancesubstantially greater than the diameter of pin 13 to permit the pin tomove readily from a position in which it rests on shoulder 17 to aposition in which it will engage the underside of edge 24.

The function and operation of the bail during the loading and dumping ofthe bucket are as follows. When the bucket is standing on the ground, itis generally most convenient to have the bail in an upright position,provided it is securely locked against rotation so that it will not fallto either side and possibly injure a workman. In this position, ascompared to those in which the bail is horizontal or in which its outerend is resting on the ground, the bucket is accessible from all sidesand can be filled with croppings, scrap, or whatever else is to beloaded into it. At the same time, the bail stands ready to be lifted byan overhead crane. In this first position of the bail, the turnnions areadjacent the upper ends of slots 11. When the bail is upright in thisposition, pins 13 are received in notches 16 in the edge of plate member14, as indicated by position A of pin 13 in FIG. 5. The bail isotherwise unsupported and held in locked position by its own weight (seeFIG. 6).

When the bucket is to be moved, the hook of an overhead crane (notshown) engages the apex 8 of the bail, and the bail is lifted straightup until pins 13 engage slots 22 in plate member 20 as indicated byposition B of pin 13 in FIG. 5. In this second position of the bail, thetrunnions are adjacent the lower ends of slots 11 and are supported bystraps 10 (see FIG. 7). It will be apparent that, so long as the bail isupright and in its second position, the bucket can be lifted otf theground and transported to some other .place, with the bucket lockedagainst rotation relative to the bail, so that, even if the bucket isunevenly loaded, there will be no danger of it tipping and dumping itscontents prematurely.

When the bucket has reached the dumping area, it is lowered to theground by the crane; and the bail is dropped slightly below its secondposition, but not so low as to occupy its first position. In thisintermediate or third position of the bail, the trunnions areintermediate the ends of slots 11 and pins 13 are in the passages orgrooves 23, as indicated by position C of pins 13 in FIG. 5, permittingthe bail to be rotated about the trunnions by moving the overhead craneto one side or the other. The bail is preferably freely rotatable ineither direction through an arc of approximately 90 degrees from thevertical until pins 13 engage shoulders 17 on plate 14, as indicated byposition D of pin 13 in FIG. 5. The bail will then be supported in asubstantially horizontal position, and continued tension on the bail tothe right by the overhead crane will shift the bail from its third toits second position (where the trunnions are adjacent the lower ends ofslots 11). With the outer end of the bail supported by the crane, pins13 will be beneath shoulders 24, as indicated by position E of pin 13 inFIG. and by FIG. 8. If the apex of the bail is now lifted by the crane,bail and bucket will turn together in a counter-clockwise direction(looking at FIG. 8) about the left-hand bottom edge 26 of the bucket,which can still rest on the ground. As the bail is lifted still higherand assumes a vertical position, shown in FIG. 9, the upper edge 27 ofthe bucket will be in contact with the ground and most of the bucketscontents will have been dumped. The bucket can be further inverted, ifdesired, by moving the crane to the left and lowering the bucketslightly until it assumes the position shown in FIG. 10, in which pins13 will engage the straight edges 19 of plate 14, as indicated byposition F of pin 13 in FIG. 5. The bail and bucket may then be returnedto their initial upright positions by reversing the procedures describedabove.

It is among the advantages of this invention that the dumping bucket isalways safe during the loading and transporting of the bucket. In eachcase, the danger is that the bucket will rotate relative to the bail;and, in each case, that danger is prevented by simple and sure means. Animportant feature of the invention is that those means are characterizedby the absence of any moving parts. A further advantage is that thecontents of the bucket can be dumped by manipulating the bail with anoverhead crane, without the intervention of any other mechanical ormanual means. This is a great convenience, since it permits the craneoperator alone to handle the bucket. A still further advantage is thatplates 14 and 20, which form the guide and retaining means for pins 13,also function as reinforcing plates that strengthen the structure of thebucket in the areas covered by the plates (see FIG. 1).

According to the provisions of patent statutes, we have explained theprinciple of our invention and have illus-. trated and described what wenow consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire tohave it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustratedand described herein.

We claim:

1. A safety dumping bucket comprising a bucket member having two opposedside walls, a trunnion mounted on each side wall and extending outwardlytherefrom in axial alignment with the other trunnion, a bail member of.generally inverted U-shape having a slot adajcent each of its ends for,receiving the trunnions to permit the bail to be rotated and to havelimited radial movement relative to the trunnions, the bail beingadapted to occupy various positions as determined by the dispositionofthe trunnions in the slots, including a first position in which thetrunnions are adjacent the upper ends of the slots, a second position inwhich the trunnions are adjacent the lower ends of the slots and a thirdposition in which the trunnions are intermediate the ends of the slots,a pin mounted on one of said members and extending towards the othermember, first retaining means on the other member adapted to engage thepin when bucket and bail are upright and the bail is in its firstposition for locking the bail against rotation about the trunnions,second retaining means on the other member adapted to engage the pinwhen bucket and hail are upright and the bail is in its second positionfor locking the bail against rotation about the trunnions, the bailbeing free to rotate about the trunnions through a predetermined arewhen the bail is in its third position, and shoulder means mounted onthe other member and adapted to engage the pin after the bail has beenrotated in its third position through a predetermined are from itsupright attitude and has then been shifted 'at the end of said arcuatemovement to its second position, said shoulder means locking the bailagainst rotation that would return it to its upright attitude, therebypermitting the bucket to be dumped by lifting the bail.

2. A safety dumping bucket according to claim 1, in which the firstretaining means includes a first plate member having an arcuate edgeportion concentric with the adjacent trunnion for receiving the pin whenbail and bucket are upright and the bail is in its first position.

3. A safety dumping bucket according to claim 2, in which the firstplate member is mounted on the bucket and its arcuate edge portion isconvex, and in which the pin is mounted on the bail above the slottherein,

4. A safety dumping bucket according to claim 2, in

which the second retaining means includes a second plate member having asecond arcuate edge portion concentric with the adjacent trunnion andopposed to but spaced from the first arcuate edge portion of the firstplate member by a distance greater than the diameter of the pin, thesecond arcuate edge portion being provided with a notch opening towardsand directly opposed to the notch on the first plate member forreceiving the pin when bail and bucket are upright and the bail is inits second position, the opposed arcuate edges of the two plate membersdefining an arcuate passage through which the pin can move when the bailis rotated in. its third position about the trunnions.

5. A safety dumping bucket according to claim'4, in which the secondplate member is mounted on the bucket and its arcuate edge portion isconcave and in which the pin is mounted on the bail above the slottherein.

6. A safety dumping bucket comprising a bucket having two opposed sidewalls, a trunnion mounted on each wall and extending outwardly therefromin axial alignment with the other trunnion, a bail member of generallyinverted U-shape having a slot adjacent each of its ends for receivingthe trunnions to permit the bail to be rotated and to have limitedradial movement relative to the trunnions, a pin mounted on one of saidmembers adjacent a trunnion and extending towards the other member,retaining and guiding means mounted on the other member for engaging thepin and locking the bail in certain positions against rotation about thetrunnions and for manipulating the bail to dump the bucket, said meansincluding rigid and opposed edge means defining an arcuate passage ofpredetermined length that is concentric with said trunnion and throughwhich the pin is adapted to pass when the bail is rotated about thetrunnions, one edge that defines this passage being provided with anotch for receiving the pin when bail and bucket are upright and thebucket is supporting the weight of the hail, the other edge of thepassage being provided with a second notch opposed to the first notchfor receiving the pin when bail and bucket are upright and the bail issupporting the weight of the bucket, each notch when engaged by the pinpreventing rotation of the bail relative to the bucket, one of said edgemeans also defining a shoulder that extends generally radially of thetrunnion for engaging the pin when the bail has been turned from itsvertical position through a substantial are relative to the bucket andhas then been shifted radially outward of the trunnion, the shoulderpreventing rotation of the bail relative to the bucket in a directionthat would return it to a vertical position, thereby permitting thebucket to be dumped by lifting the bail.

7. A safety dumping bucket according to claim 6 that also includes asecond shoulder defined by the second of said edge means and extendingradially of the trunnion opposite an end of the passage and opposed tobut radially inward of the first shoulder for engaging the pin andsupporting the bail when the bail is at a substantial angle to thevertical.

8. A safety dumping bucket according to claim 6 that also includes stopmeans in the form of a shoulder extending radially of the trunnion andopposed to the first shoulder for engaging the pin and limiting furtherrotation of the bail about the trunnions.

9. A safety dumping bucket according to claim 6, in which the pin ismounted on the bail adjacent the slot therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,107,114 10/1963Kroell 294-73 FOREIGN PATENTS 428,673 5/1935 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

1. A SAFETY DUMPING BUCKET COMPRISING A BUCKET MEMBER HAVING TWO OPPOSEDSIDE WALLS, A TRUNNION MOUNTED ON EACH SIDE WALL AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLYTHEREFROM IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE OTHER TRUNNION, A BAIL MEMBER OFGENERALLY INVERTED U-SHAPED HAVING A SLOT ADJACENT EACH OF ITS ENDS FORRECEIVING THE TRUNNIONS TO PERMIT THE BAIL TO BE ROTATED AND TO HAVELIMITED RADIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE TRUNNIONS, THE BAIL BEINGADAPTED TO OCCUPY VARIOUS POSITIONS AS DETERMINED BY THE DISPOSITION OFTHE TRUNNIONS IN THE SLOTS, INCLUDING A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH THETRUNNIONS ARE ADJACENT THE UPPER ENDS OF THE SLOTS, A SECOND POSITION INWHICH THE TRUNNIONS ARE ADJACENT THE LOWER ENDS OF THE SLOTS AND A THIRDPOSITION IN WHICH THE TRUNNIONS ARE INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE SLOTS,A PIN MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID MEMBERS AND EXTENDING TOWARD THE OTHERMEMBER, FIRST RETAINING MEANS ON THE OTHER MEMBER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THEPIN WHEN BUCKET AND BAIL ARE UPRIGHT AND THE BAIL IS IN ITS FIRSTPOSITION FOR LOCKING THE BAIL AGAINST ROTATION ABOUT THE TRUNNIONSSECOND RETAINING MEANS ON THE OTHER MEMBER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE PINWHEN BUCKET AND BAIL ARE UPRIGHT AND THE BAIL IS IN ITS SECOND POSITIONFOR LOCKING THE BAIL AGAINST ROTATION ABOUT THE TRUNNIONS, THE BAILBEING FREE TO ROTATE ABOUT THE TRUNNIONS THROUGH A PREDETERMINED ARCWHEN THE BAIL IS IN ITS THIRD POSITION, AND SHOULDER